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A day after a 13-year-old allegedly stole his sister’s pick-up truck, ran a red light then crashed into a mail carrier, a postal worker remains in the hospital with serious injuries as question arise regarding postal workers' on-the-job safety. Patrick Healy reports from Angeleno Heights for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2013. (Published Tuesday, Dec 10, 2013)

Updated at 11:23 PM EST on Tuesday, Dec 10, 2013

A 13-year-old boy was allegedly behind the wheel of a pick-up truck when it ran a stop sign in Echo Park and collided with a mail truck, ejecting the mail carrier and pinning her beneath her vehicle, authorities said.

The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. on Douglas Street near Bellevue Avenue.

The boy allegedly took the pick-up truck from his home, a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Police Department Central Traffic Division said.

It’s not clear how far he made it before running a stop sign and slamming into a mail truck. Police said he initially left the scene of the crash but returned soon after.

The mail carrier was ejected from her truck and pinned beneath her vehicle, police said. She was treated at a hospital for multiple spinal fractures, a dislocated fractured right hip, and cuts to the scalp, police said.

Richard Maher, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, would not release the name of the mail carrier, but said she was a new employee who started working with the Postal Service in May.

The boy was booked into custody on a felony charge of a hit-and-run and driving without a license, police said. He was expected to be released to the custody of his parents.

Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the crash, police said.